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C A S E
S T U D Y
21st ACM SIGKDD Conference on
Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining
75%
Delegates
1,192 delegates – the second
largest KDD in 21 years
From 39 countries, attracting
large contingents from North
America, China and Australia
Over one quarter of delegates
were from Asia
Date
10-13 August 2015
Venue
Hilton Sydney
OF KDD15 DELEGATES
WERE INTERNATIONAL
Program highlights
• Largest technical program ever,
•
featuring 43 technical sessions, 228
paper presentations, four keynote
speakers, 11 industry and government
talks, 15 workshops and 12 tutorials
Highest level of sponsorship ever
achieved from 27 organisations such
as Google and Facebook, and the
greatest support ever received from
local government
• Largest number of student travel
awards (89 students)
• Over 50 organising committee
members and 120 volunteers involved
in the preparation and arrangements
of KDD2015.
61%
INCREASE ON FORECAST
DELEGATE NUMBERS
The world’s foremost researchers
and practitioners from data mining,
knowledge discovery, data analytics and
the big data sector congregated in Sydney
for the 21st Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group
(SIG) on Knowledge Discovery and
Data Mining conference (KDD15). The
conference covered sectors including
education, public policy, industry,
government, healthcare, e-commerce,
telecommunications, law and non-profit.
Considered the world’s premier
conference in big data and data mining,
KDD2015 was the first Australian
edition of the largest international
conference in data analytics and only the
second time it had been held in the AsiaPacific region.
Typically held in the northern
hemisphere, KDD15 offered an
opportunity for local industry, academia
and government to engage in a oncein-a-lifetime event with international
counterparts and experts.
The co-located Big Data Summit
(BDS15), held 9-10 August, attracted
450 registrations, marking the largest big
data forum in Australia that bridges the
gaps between academia, industry and
government in big data, data science,
industrial transformation and data
economy. It was the first time the event
widely engaged with both local and
regional professional groups, including
the Australia and New Zealand Chapter,
the Indian Chapter and the China
Computer Foundation.
The social program included an opening
and awards ceremony in Hilton Sydney’s
grand ballroom, Microsoft’s KDD
Kick-Off Reception at the Zeta Bar in
the Hilton and the KDD Banquet and
Business Meeting on the final evening
at the Dockside Pavilion in Darling
Harbour.
Outcomes and measurable impacts
KDD15 in Sydney was the second largest
KDD conference in its 21-year history
with 1,192 registrations, representing
a 61 per cent increase on the delegate
numbers forecast by the local organising
committee.
“KDD2015 was the largest big data-related event
in Australia’s history that engaged academia,
industry and government from local, regional
and global communities.”
– Professor Longbing Cao, General Co-Chair
for KDD2015 and the Director of IDA
The United States represented the
largest delegation with 382 confirmed
delegates in attendance. Australia
and China followed with 292 and 115
delegates, respectively, and there were
also large contingents from Germany,
The Democratic Republic of Congo,
Japan and South Korea. By region, Asia
represented the majority share with one
quarter of delegates.
In Sydney, KDD15 garnered the highest
level of sponsorship in its 21-year
history from 27 organisations such as
Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, SAS and
Microsoft. High-profile speakers included
academics from Stanford, Cornell and
MIT, and industry heavyweights such
as Google, HP, Alibaba, Huawei and
Groupon.
The success of KDD15 also opened
new opportunities to significantly
boost Australia’s data innovation,
economy and education through an
international and cross-disciplinary
approach. It helped to raise the profile of
local industry representatives from the
University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
and its Advanced Analytics Institute
(AAi), and the International Institute of
Data and Analytics (IDA).
Partnering for success
When Sydney was confirmed as host
city for KDD15 in 2013, Business
Events Sydney (BESydney) worked with
the local organising committee and
Tourism Australia to immediately launch
a delegate boosting program. Raising
the profile of the upcoming Sydney
conference, these activities included
pre-conference promotion at events in
Shanghai and Shenzhen with tailored
marketing collateral and giveaways,
marketing videos in English and
Chinese for the conference website, and
advertorial articles written by Professor
Longbing Cao, General Co-Chair for
KDD2015 and the Director of IDA, in
key industry journals in China and India.
New South Wales (NSW) Government
engagement, assisted by BESydney,
included the Hon. Victor Dominello
MP, Minister for Innovation and Better
Regulation, addressing delegates
during the banquet dinner. That
same week the minister had launched
Digital Plus, a plan that includes new
policy actions, including development
frameworks for enterprise architecture,
telecommunications and a new roadmap
for accelerating to a fully digital
government. Minister Dominello also
provided a welcome speech for BDS15.
Other government support, delivered
with BESydney’s assistance, included
the NSW Premier, the Hon. Mike Baird
MP, providing a welcome message in
the conference handbook for delegates,
and an introduction to NSW Trade &
Investment and the State’s tourism body,
Destination NSW.
“On behalf of KDD2015 and BDS15
organising committee, I would like
to express my sincere appreciation to
BESydney for the great support and to
the relevant agencies and departments of
NSW for the tremendous commitment to
KDD2015,” said Professor Cao. “Hosting
KDD2015, the first Australian edition
of KDD, is a very wonderful experience,
and it has shown that it is not necessarily
risky to organise large events such
as KDD15 in Sydney, despite initial
concerns on distance, isolation and the
small population of Australia.”
The successful organisation of KDD15
and BDS15 in Sydney will substantially
lift the international leadership of
Australian community, and boost datadriven innovation, applications and
collaborations between Australia and
regional and global communities.
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